Heart and Mind

The Sicilian Pizza Corner Quandary

When I get Sicilian pizza, I don't prefer the corners.

Saying this may make some people thing that I don't like the pizza crust. That's not true. I like it just fine.

I just like the non-crust part better, and the corners—in my mind—have too much crust at the expense of the non-crust part. I don't even mind the edge piece, where you get one side of crust. It gives you a nice handle. But two sides (half the sides) with crust is not my preference.

I kind of figure that most people like the corner pieces. I also figured that whereas I won't opt for the Sicilian slice when all that remains on the slice pie is corners, few people probably feel the same way. But I now know I must be wrong about that.

I was at pizza joint once and there was one non-corner piece left on the Sicilian slice pie. I was planning on asking for it, but the guy on line in front of me requested it first. So, I opted to get some other kind of slice instead.

After I had placed my order, the pizza guy did something that amazed me. He, I reason, must see lots of people who don't want the corner pieces, because now that all that remained to chose from was corners, he took a pizza cutter, lopped off an edge from two of the four corners, and threw them out the front door where a bunch of pigeons started eating them. He turned his some corners into non-corners.

This was kind of disturbing, but this Pizza guy was kind of a surly individual, so I'm not too surprised that he did this so unabashedly in front of customers. But what makes it disturbing is that it kind of points out how clueless we can be. Because if I had walked in two minutes later, I would have seen the former corner pieces and not known they were ever anything but regular edge pieces. And then I would have thought, "Oh, there's an edge piece. I'll take that one!" And I would have ordered it.

Meanwhile, what really would have happened is that instead of me getting more of what I like for my money, I'm getting less. I wouldn't be getting a piece with more "non-crust portions" on account of the fact that slice's perimeter wasn't being dominated by "edge." I would be getting a piece of corner where I was being gypped on edge. And I'd have been none the wiser.

Makes you kind of wonder what other things you think you're winning at, but you're really getting hosed on.

posted by Steve @ 3:08 PM